A Palestinian living in the city of Jenin, north of the occupied West Bank, described the lives of the city’s residents as tragic due to the Israeli occupation army’s aggression that has been ongoing for 4 days, and which has caused great destruction to dozens of homes.
Ali Mahmoud Abu Zeid, who lives in the eastern neighborhood of the city, said in a phone call with Anadolu Agency that he and the neighborhood residents have been living in a tragic situation for 4 days.
“There is a major Israeli invasion of the neighborhood, and there is destruction everywhere,” he added. “They destroyed the water, electricity and sewage networks, stormed homes and launched an arrest campaign, not to mention the vandalism, destruction and demolition of homes.”
Abu Zeid said that about 50 Israeli soldiers stormed his house and arrested his son Mahmoud.
Siege and terror
He pointed out that the occupation forces stormed the house in a terrifying manner, asked him and his family to surrender, detained them for about 4 hours, and set up snipers on the roof of the house.
He continued, “Before the army forces withdrew, they told me: Do not leave the house and do not open the windows. We are carrying out a large-scale military operation and we will shoot anyone who leaves or opens the windows.”
Abu Zaid pointed out that the Israeli occupation forces demolished dozens of homes and parts of the mosque and cemetery in the neighborhood.
Regarding his needs and those of other residents of the neighborhood, Abu Zaid said, “We live in difficult conditions, without water, food, or electricity, and we manage our affairs with difficulty.”
He added, “We have an elderly woman who needs dialysis, and we have sent appeals to secure her arrival to the hospital, but to no avail. The army is shooting at anyone who moves, including ambulances.”
Targeting ambulance crews
For his part, paramedic Ahmed Hamdan told Anadolu Agency that the occupation forces opened fire on the medical staff on the outskirts of the eastern neighborhood of Jenin, without causing any injuries.
He continued, “Since the beginning of the military operation, the occupation has been obstructing the movement of medical crews and preventing them from responding to calls in Jenin camp and the eastern neighborhood” of the besieged city.
Palestinians are sharing on social media images of the massive destruction caused by Israeli machinery in the eastern neighborhood, including the destruction of infrastructure and the demolition of homes and shops.
Israeli drones and helicopters continue to fly over Jenin, with an exchange of gunfire heard.
At midnight on Tuesday/Wednesday, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority announced that the Israeli occupation army had launched a large-scale military operation in the northern West Bank, and that its forces were carrying out a simultaneous operation in Jenin and Tulkarm.
Large forces of the Israeli occupation army stormed Jenin, Tulkarm, their camps, and Al-Far’a camp, near Tubas, under cover of the air force, before withdrawing, the day before yesterday, Thursday, from Al-Far’a camp and Tulkarm, while its aggression continues in Jenin.
On Friday evening, the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that the number of martyrs in the northern West Bank since dawn on Wednesday had risen to 20, after the martyrdom of an elderly Palestinian man in the eastern neighborhood of the city of Jenin.